Accidental Christmas
by ScruffyLovin
Summary: Half of SG1 are stuck in the infirmary on Christmas Eve. SJ.


**Disclaimer:** Stargate: SG-1 and anything related does not belong to me. Nope, nope.

**Summary:** Half of SG-1 are stuck in the infirmary on Christmas Eve. SJ.

**Note:** I don't usually write holiday fics so I thought I'd give it a go. I know it's been done, but hopefully this'll be different. It's also a little late in coming, but that's alright. So it's a belated Christmas story. XP

**Accidental Christmas**

"Aw, c'mon Doc... Can't we just go home? It's Christmas Eve!" Jack complained in a somewhat-drug slurred voice from his infirmary bed.

"Absolutely not Colonel, I'm sorry," Janet Fraiser said sympathetically, shaking her head as she glanced down at the chart in her hands. The petite doctor turned to the next bed, occupied by Major Carter. "Sam, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," the blonde answered quietly, straightening to sit up in bed. "My shoulder's still pretty sore and my head hurts a little, but otherwise I'm okay." Sam smiled briefly. She didn't mind being stuck in the infirmary on Christmas Eve, because then atleast she wouldn't be alone. Daniel had gone to spend the holiday on Abydos with Kasuf and Skaara, even though they didn't really celebrate, and Teal'c chose to take his time off with Bra'tac and Rya'c. They had both left a few days ago before she and Colonel O'Neill ended up in the infirmary.

Janet pulled Sam's chart on top of the Colonel's and tapped it thoughtfully with a pen. "You were very lucky Sam, if Colonel O'Neill hadn't shoved you out of the way of that vehicle, you would've been hit head-on," she said quietly, her words gaining a grunt from O'Neill.

Ducking her head slightly, Sam gave a somewhat bashful smile. Her bright blue eyes glanced sideways at Jack and she grimaced. "I realize that. Thank you Colonel, by the way," She lifted her chin and looked over at him properly, her expression apologetic. "And I'm sorry,"

Jack gave her a curt nod, not wanting to further discuss his act of heroism. "Not your fault," he assured her quietly. Jack was glad he'd saved Carter's life; he didn't know what he'd do without her. He just wished he didn't have a busted right knee, concussion, and a broken left ankle to show for it.

_One Day Earlier..._

_With the last of his paperwork completed, Jack had just signed off base and was ready to start his Christmas vacation. With Daniel and Teal'c already gone, he knew he'd be alone for the holidays and had been a little moody, but was anxious to leave the base. He figured he'd head home, order take out, have a beer, watch hockey, and just maybe it would make him feel a bit better. _

_On his way across the lot, Jack heard footsteps clunking along the pavement behind him and turned to see Carter with a bag slung over her shoulder, leaving the base to start her holiday off as well. "Hey Carter, off to your brother's place?" he asked, pausing as she caught up and they started walking together. _

_Sam smiled a little sadly, shaking her head. "Nope, not this year sir. Mark's going to visit his in-laws in Hawaii this year, and Dad's too busy with the Tok'ra to visit Earth, so it's just me and my plants this Christmas." She smiled up at him with false cheer and waved a hand vaguely in gesture. "How 'bout you sir? Any plans?" _

_Jack gave a slow shake of his head and a half smile. "Not really. Just goin' home where it'll be just me, a beer, and some hockey," He gave a humorless chuckle and was about to be scarily bold and ask Sam if she wanted to join him, but something speeding toward them out of the corner of his eye got his attention. _

_Jerking around to see what had the Colonel so transfixed, Sam saw the vehicle too late to do anything but widen her eyes in shock. _

_"Sam, watch out!" Jack barked, shoving her out of the way, hard, just as the car swerved at the last second and clipped him, sending the Colonel flying up over the hood and onto the windshield before landing solidly on the pavement in an unmoving heap. _

_Sam had wrenched her shoulder pretty good when she landed, hitting the side of her head on the ground after O'Neill valiantly pushed her out of the way of the speeding vehicle. She momentarily regained consciousness when a pair of SFs pulled their Jeep over and rushed to help, loudly calling for a medical team through their radios. Just before she blacked out again, Sam caught sight of the Colonel lying five yards away and not moving._

_They later found out that some drunken conspiracy nut had crashed his car through the mountain gates and was being pursued by SFs when he'd hit the two officers in the SGC parking lot. _

-

As night descended on the SGC, most everyone had gone home to be with their families, only the basic skeleton crew remaining on base. Even General Hammond had gone home to have dinner with his daughter and her family. There were no teams off-world, no dire emergencies, and everything was in working order.

Janet mentally crossed her fingers as she headed out of her office and went to check up on her only two patients. Stepping into the infirmary, she wasn't surprised to find Colonel O'Neill grumpily laying on his bed with his Gameboy sitting on his chest and a scowl on his face while Sam was sitting up and scribbling something or other on an open notebook. She sighed and spoke to them. "I know you would both rather be at home then stuck here on Christmas Eve, but neither of you are in any state to be left completely alone. I'm sorry,"

"Hmph," Jack snorted and rolled his eyes. "I can take care of myself fine," he muttered under his breath.

The vigilant doctor heard him anyway. She shook her head, hands on her hips. "I'm the doctor and I beg to differ Colonel. First of all, you can't walk, and secondly, you've got a bad concussion."

Sighing with exaggeration, Jack glared at the Gameboy on his chest a moment before Fraiser reached over him and took it away. His eyes widened in protest when she removed the batteries, stuck them in her pocket and set the Gameboy down on the side table. "Hey! What'cha do that for?!" he complained with a frown.

Sam was looking over at them curiously, setting her notebook and pencil aside.

"Playing around with that thing isn't going to make your head feel any better," Janet answered Jack calmly, ignoring the black look he gave her as she moved toward the medical closet and returned with a new IV bag. As she replaced his used one and tossed it away, the doctor added more painkillers and a mild sedative to the IV port before moving over to Major Carter's bed and doing the same at a slightly lower dosage.

Jack was grumbling irritably now. He scowled as he watched the drugs snake through the tube in his arm.

"Janet, you should go home, spend the holiday with Cassie," Sam told her friend with an encouraging smile. She felt bad about the doctor sticking around just because of them.

"Well..." Janet glanced off thoughtfully with a sigh. "I've still got a few nurses left on duty. I was going to just stop home and get dinner ready for Cassie, then come back here. She can spend the night in my quarters while I'm working."

"Doc," Jack barked suddenly. "Go home, will ya? Spend the holiday with your daughter, for cryin' out loud! We'll be fine. You don't gotta come back to sit with us. We're fine," he assured her, not wanting to ruin Fraiser's Christmas just because he and Carter were laid up from a stupid accident.

Janet's brows furrowed as she contemplated her options. Finally, she glanced between O'Neill and Sam and nodded. "Alright, but I'm leaving my home number with my head nurse, Captain Holland. If you need anything, don't hesitate to have her call me, alright?"

Jack smirked half-heartedly and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Now go home to see Cassie, that's an order!"

Sam nodded and smiled at Janet, raising her good arm to wave. "Goodnight Janet, Merry Christmas,"

"Same to you," Fraiser smiled at both her patients and turned to leave. She paused at the door and pointedly said, "Now get some rest, both of you."

"Yes ma'am," Jack sent off a sloppy salute and watched her leave, already feeling the effects of the sedative she'd given him. "Damn drugs.." he grumbled, relaxing into the pillows and closing his eyes.

"Goodnight sir," Sam whispered softly, settling carefully to lie down without disturbing her slinged shoulder. Her eyelids began fluttering rapidly, and soon enough she was asleep.

Jack quietly murmured, "'Night Carter," before drifting off as well.

-

Sam woke to what sounded like muffled cursing, a soft shuffle of fabric, and the slight squeak of infirmary mattress springs. She opened her eyes and carefully levered herself to a sitting position while turning her head towards the bed at her left. She caught Jack just managing to finish dismantling his IV and trying to carefully swing his injured legs over the side of the bed. "Colonel?" she questioned, clearing her throat to ease the sleepyness from her voice. "Sir, what are you doing?"

"I'm gettin' up Carter," he huffed without looking at her, breathing a little harshly. "I'm hungry!" Jack winced as he bent his right knee slightly, thankful for the brace that kept it pretty stiff. He had a big black boot strapped to his broken ankle to immobilize it without the annoyance of a plaster cast, which also made it easier to start walking on once he could put some weight on it. Which, at the moment, he couldn't; not even a little. Contemplating his next move, Jack glanced toward Carter as she spoke up again.

"Sir, I'm sure the nurses will bring us something to eat. Did you try the call button?" She asked as she moved so that she was now on the edge of her bed.

"No, of course not," Jack narrowed his eyes and stared back at Carter as though the reason for that was glaringly obvious. Exasperated, he explained. "There's practically no one here, and I don't want the nurses to come down and give us crappy hospital food. I'm gonna snag some cake from the commissary,"

Sam laughed quietly and gave him an incredulous look. "Cake?"

He shrugged and smiled, responding simply with, "It's Christmas Eve." Jack focused back on his current task of getting out of bed and briefly rubbed at his throbbing head. There was still a big goose egg on the top left side of his noggin. Spying a wheelchair in the far corner of the room, Jack resigned himself to the fact that there was no way he'd be able to reach it and decided he'd need some assistance. Glancing back at Sam, Jack cocked his head towards the chair and waved a hand at her. "A little help, Carter?"

Smiling slightly, Sam carefully removed her IV needle and stood, remaining still for a moment to check that she wouldn't suffer from a dizzy spell, then walked off toward the far side of the room where the chair was.

Jack waited patiently as she pushed the chair, one-handed, beside his bed. Now, actually getting _into _the chair was another matter. He shifted his weight on the mattress, sliding closer toward the edge of the bed and leaning so that the weight would be on his right side first. Jack guessed that putting some weight on his less-injured knee would hurt alot less than leaning on his broken ankle.

Sam firmly grasped Jack's upper arm with her right hand and helped to quickly but carefully get him into the chair. As he sunk into it with a muted groan, she stood by patiently as his harsh breathing returned to normal and then knelt down to guide his feet into the chair's foot rests. "All set?" she asked, looking down at him.

"Yep," Jack replied shortly, grasping the wheel guides and propelling himself around Sam and toward the door. He slowed the chair and glanced back, raising an eyebrow at Sam and grinning lopsidedly. "You comin'?"

His grin was contagious, and she found herself mirroring his youthful expression. Nodding, Sam briefly touched a hand to her sling, adjusting it slightly and wincing a little before following after him. "Why not?"

-

As they moved along the silent, and eerily empty corridors, Sam glanced down at Jack, who was wheeling along at her right side. "Sir, what makes you think there's anything to eat in the commissary at all? I mean, look at this place, there's no one around."

Jack slowed down and looked up at her, smiling knowingly. "The gate techs on the graveyard shift practically live off caffeine and sugar, the dessert cabinets are always well-stocked this time of night."

"Maybe so," Sam gave a one-shouldered shrug, "But it _is _Christmas Eve. Maybe the commissary staff didn't put anything out tonight."

"Hm," Jack started moving at a quicker pace now, "We'll see Carter," He was determined to get some cake tonight, that was for sure.

Sam laughed softly and did a little skip to catch up.

Sure enough, when they stepped into the abandoned, dimly lit commissary, the dessert cabinet had two shelves stocked with cake, Jell-O, and assorted yogurt cups.

"Nice," Jack grinned and wheeled himself toward the brightly-lit display.

Sam followed the Colonel without as much determination, but the blue Jell-O had caught her eye. She smiled warmly behind Jack as she took in the sight of him staring up at the cabinet from his chair, unable to see the shelf of cake that he so desired. He looked like a little kid in a candy store, eyes bright with awe, and just dying to get to the candy on the top shelf. Stepping to the side of Jack, she peeked into the display for him. "What kind of cake would you like, sir? It looks like there's...carrot cake, vanilla with chocolate frosting, and double chocolate."

Leaning his head back, Jack's brows furrowed briefly in thought before he waved a finger in the air and decided, "Vanilla."

As Jack wheeled himself over to a table with the cake she'd given him, positioning himself at the end so he didn't have to push any chairs out of the way, Sam snagged herself a cup of blue Jell-O and joined him.

They ate their desserts silently in the mostly-dark room, enjoying the companionable silence. After demolishing his cake, Jack began morosely swirling his fork through the remaining frosting that smeared the plate. Though he was glad for Carter's company, he couldn't help but wonder what their evening would be like if he'd been able to ask her to join him for the holiday and she'd said yes.

"Something on your mind, sir?" Sam asked softly, pushing her finished Jell-O cup aside. She knew there was a very slim chance of him responding to that truthfully, but she thought she'd ask anyway. He seemed particularly pensive at the moment.

Jack lifted his chin to look at her, but continued fiddling with his fork. In a rare, open moment, he decided to tell her just what was really on his mind. "I was just thinking... The other day, before that car came barelling through the parking lot, I was gonna ask you if you'd want to join me for Christmas. Seeing as we both didn't have plans and would be otherwise..alone," he quirked a brief, half smile.

Sam's eyebrows rose, and she nearly muttered a 'Wow', but at the last second deemed the exclamation as a highly inadequate response. She smiled a small smile back at him and cocked her head to the side slightly. "Really?"

Since she didn't sound appalled at the invitation, Jack didn't back down. He nodded. "Yeah, really Carter."

Her smile widened and she reached her hand across the table to lightly touch his arm. "That's really thoughtful of you, Colonel." Sam paused for a second, staring into his eyes and trying to read him. She could tell he was anxious to hear what her response would have been, if things were different. So she told him. "If it weren't for the accident, I would have said yes. No one should have to be alone for Christmas," Sam felt her cheeks redden slightly, but didn't look away.

Jack nodded with a smile, then suddenly swung his chair back from the table and turned toward the entrance. "C'mon, let's get outta here. I got an idea,"

Curious, Sam got up out of her seat and went after him. They both paused at the door, and for some reason, she looked up. Silently wondering if they happened to have some sort of Christmas Angel looking over them, Sam smiled to herself, nudging Jack's shoulder and pointing over their heads. "Sir," Hanging there in the door frame above them was a red bow wrapped around some mistletoe. She hadn't even noticed it when they'd first walked in.

Staring at the mistletoe thoughtfully, his gaze shifting to Sam's bright blue eyes, Jack smiled and gave a shrug before subtly glancing around to make sure there was still no one in sight. "Well, unless you wanna break tradition Carter, you're gonna hafta get down to my level," He tapped at the wheels of his chair.

Sam nodded, bending at the waist and leaning toward him until their lips met for a brief, but oh-so-sweet kiss. She pulled back, smiling when she saw the grin on his face and the warmth in his eyes, letting her know that they wouldn't let the moment cause an awkwardness between them. "So," she said softly, breaking the silence. "What's this idea of yours?"

Jack's eyes twinkled mischievously and he began propelling himself out into the hall. "Follow me!"

Laughing to herself, Sam did as he asked, curious and hopeful at the same time, wondering what Jack was up to.

-

"You know, Janet's going to kill us if she hears from her nurses we've gone AWOL from the infirmary," Sam whispered as Jack slowed his pace down the corridor. They were currently on the infirmary level and nearing the nurses station.

"I have a feeling the nurses won't suspect a thing," Jack whispered back, rolling his chair more slowly and coming to a careful halt just outside the open door to the nurses station. He leaned forward in the chair as much as he could and peeked inside the spacious room where he could see the three nurses on duty sitting around a card table chatting, drinking coffee, and eating Christmas cookies. Grinning to himself, Jack leaned back to see Sam waiting a few steps behind with a curious expression. "We're good to go Carter," he said quietly, swinging his chair around and heading back in the direction they'd come from.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What are they doing in there? Playing cards?" She could hear the muffled chatting, but otherwise didn't bother to poke her head around the door, instead turning to walk alongside Jack.

"Pretty much," Jack chuckled softly.

They reached the elevator, and Sam was about to hit a button when she realized that she had no idea what level they were heading to now. She looked over at the Colonel expectantly.

"Up," he answered her silent question.

When the doors slid open, they went inside, Jack reaching for the numbers and just barely managing to reach the one he was aiming for. The car jerked and they started going up.

"What if the nurses stop by to check on us?" Sam whispered with concern, even though there really was no need to whisper any longer.

"You worry too much Carter," Jack rolled his eyes, that lopsided grin on his face. He waved a hand in dismissal. "Doc probably told 'em to let us sleep." He wheeled himself out of the elevator once the car stopped and the doors slid open.

Sighing, Sam kept walking alongside him, not even realizing they'd reached their destination until Jack came to a stop in what she noticed was the recreation room.

Jack wheeled himself around by the couch. "Have a seat, Carter," he moved toward the entertainment system and began looking through the small stack of movies on top of the tv. Making faces at the selections, he finally chose one and put the rest back before popping it in the dvd player and turning the tv on. "Did someone say 'Christmas movie'?" Jack grinned and went back over to the couch where Carter now sat, grabbing the remote as he went.

Sam smiled. "Excellent idea, sir." Her brows creased in concern as Jack shifted painfully from the wheelchair to the couch. "Maybe you should have left that IV in," she told him softly, grimacing in sympathy as he quickly schooled his features to mask his discomfort.

"Nah, I'm okay," Jack mumbled dismissively, leaning back as he focused on the tv. The movie's main menu popped up and he hit the 'play' button on the remote.

"_The Santa Clause_, huh?" Sam asked as she glanced sideways at him, changing the subject. "Not quite a classic," she commented with a wry grin.

Shrugging, Jack swung his eyes toward her lazily and pointed over at the small movie stack on the tv. "I didn't have a big selection,"

"I guess it's a good thing I like this movie then," Sam smiled and shifted a little closer, making it seem as though she were just trying to get comfortable on the over-stuffed cushions.

Jack leaned back to watch the movie as it began, ignoring the dull throb in his head and the ache in his legs. It was nice sitting there beside Sam, and it just felt so right. Definitely better than spending the night in his lonely house with only a bottle of beer and the television for company. Like Carter had said, no one should have to be alone for Christmas.

-

Jack opened his eyes to find that his world was tilted curiously to the side. He righted himself slowly, with a bit more difficulty than normal, and realized that it was because Carter was slumped against his right side. He rose an eyebrow lazily and a slow grin spread across his face. His attention shifted slowly to the faint blue glow from the tv. The movie had long ago ended and the dvd player's screensaver was on.

Lifting his left wrist and squinting at his watch, Jack noted the time. It was just past midnight. Nudging Carter with his right elbow, he shifted a little more, trying to get her to wake up. "Carter," he whispered sharply, grinning as she groggily lifted her head from his shoulder and her eyes fixed on him. "It's after midnight," he murmured softly.

Sam's brows furrowed momentarily and she pulled her head back and squinted as the Colonel shoved his watch in her face. She read the time before his arm moved away and her bright blue eyes swung back toward his dark brown ones.

"Merry Christmas, Sam," Jack whispered softly, a loving look in his eyes.

She smiled back at him. "Merry Christmas, Jack," Then he surprised her by leaning in a little closer and kissing her. It was much sweeter and longer than the under-the-mistletoe kiss, and she savored every second.

Grinning foolishly, Jack leaned back against the cushions, closing his eyes contently as Sam's head returned to the place on his shoulder. Within minutes they were both asleep again, dreaming peacefully.

-

At 0800 the next morning, Janet Fraiser had returned to the SGC to check up on her patients. Her nurses from the other night had left the morning shift nurses a note saying that Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill had gone AWOL from the infirmary sometime during the night. It turned out that a couple of SFs saw them heading into the Level 19 recreation room, but when the nurses went there to drag their asses back to the medical wing, they found the two injured officers fast asleep on the couch and didn't have the heart to wake them.

That was also how Janet had found them when she reached the rec room. She leaned in the doorway, gazing thoughfully at the pair on the couch and smiling like the Cheshire cat. _I knew I had the right idea putting that mistletoe over the commissary door. _Pleased with herself, Janet turned, closing the door on her way out. "Merry Christmas you two."

-

**The End**

**Note: **'Kay, so it's after Christmas, but that's okay right? An after-Christmas present is nice too. ;) Please review!


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